Japan

JAPAN: Desperate gamers wait outside an electronics store in Tokyo in the wee hours of the morning to get their hands on the latest PlayStation or Xbox despite Japan’s persistent shortages. Since its November 2020 debut, Sony and Microsoft consoles, as well as Nintendo’s Switch, have been difficult to obtain due to supply chain concerns compounded by lockdowns in China. …

JAPAN: Temperatures in eastern Japan have been at their hottest since records began, forcing the government to advise residents to conserve electricity as much as possible, while keeping air conditioners on in order to remain safe. There will be a scorching weekend for those who live in and around Tokyo, as temperatures rose above 35 degrees Celsius for the seventh …

YOKOHAMA: As the sweltering summer heat continues to hammer Tokyo, the Japanese government issued a warning on Sunday (June 26) that electric power supplies in the Tokyo area would be stretched on Monday. According to Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry projections, excess production capacity in Tokyo and eight adjacent prefectures in eastern Japan would drop as low as 3.7 …

YAMAGATA: Increasing the amount of rice in his cattle feed is a way for Japanese farmer Kiyoharu Hirao to save money as the cost of imported maize used in animal feed continues to rise. Concerns over the quality of his prized wagyu beef and anger at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), which once maintained an almost unbreakable grip on …

TOKYO: Asian stocks rose on Monday, after Wall Street’s strong bounce at the close of last week, as oil prices fell, easing concerns about inflation and the Federal Reserve’s fast tightening. With interest rates expected to rise and a possible recession looming, investors kept a close eye on the yields on Treasuries and the dollar, which stayed at its lowest …

TOKYO: There is a crowdfunding drive underway in Japan to help preserve a rare patch of woodland: the forest that served as inspiration for the “My Neighbor Totoro” animation. A municipal official told AFP that just a tiny amount of the 2.6 billion yen (US$19 million) price tag for the 3.5-hectare Totoro Forest would be raised via crowdsourcing. As a …

The Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) said on Tuesday that Japan and the UAE had confirmed their partnership in the energy sector. “To address efforts to promote stability in the global crude oil market, METI Minister Hagiuda Koichi conducted a video conference with Suhail Mohamed Al Mazrouei, UAE’s Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. The two ministers also talked …

TOKYO: On Monday, a Japanese court declared that a prohibition on same-sex marriage is not unconstitutional, striking a blow to LGBTQ rights activists in the only Group of Seven country that does not allow persons of the same gender to marry. After a court in the city of Sapporo ruled in March 2021 that prohibiting same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, activists’ …

JAPAN: Following the suicide of a reality show star who had experienced social media bullying, Japan’s parliament passed legislation making “online insults” punishable by imprisonment on Monday. Offenders convicted of internet insults face up to a year in prison or a fine of 300,000 yen (about $2,200) under a modification to the country’s penal code slated to take effect later …

JAPAN: It all began with a family squabble and ended in tragedy when a small girl was stabbed to death by her elderly grandfather in a case that shocked the country. The 88-year-old, Susumu Tomizawa, admitted to killing his 16-year-old granddaughter, Tomomi, two years ago, but said that he doesn’t remember it happening.  Tomizawa has Alzheimer’s disease, a neurological condition …